


At the Inn

by Arrveolantrath, InaudibleTacit



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, adding tags as we go, naruto has an inn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arrveolantrath/pseuds/Arrveolantrath, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InaudibleTacit/pseuds/InaudibleTacit
Summary: Naruto has an inn. Naruto also has a few permanent residents at the inn. It's a live innjob.Small snippets of the inn life and interesting incidents.Companion fic to No Matter How You Sell It, Team 7 Spells Trouble by InaudibleTacit.
Relationships: Sai & Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	At the Inn

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [No Matter How You Sell It, Team 7 Spells Trouble](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21991978) by [InaudibleTacit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InaudibleTacit/pseuds/InaudibleTacit). 



Sai stared at the visitor.

“What are _you_ doing here?”

Naruto would not be happy. Sai knew that normally such forwardness would be considered impolite, but this situation was completely different. He would swear such up, down and sideways should it ever come up.

The visitor stared back and didn’t deign him with a verbal response. The brown head slowly moved forward, neck stretching until Sai was nose to nose with his guest.

_Sniffffffff._

Sai almost backed away at the sudden intake of air so close to his mouth. He could feel the airflow, and then something wet and cold touched his face. It retreated right away, but the wet spot right between his nostrils itched as it started to dry.

A sudden shout down the street drew their attention away from the interaction.

“Did you lose it again?!”

“Don’t yell at me! I don’t know where the damn thing went!”

A genin team was on a hunt. Sai thought he was supposed to scrunch up his face – a grimace, the book called it. _An ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement._ This fit the situation, right? Those were the things he might feel watching this team. The genin were shinobi on a mission, and they were acting so unprofessional.

Then again, so did Naruto. Did that mean Sai was supposed to _grimace_ at his friend? No, friends were supposed to _smile_ at each other – a show of good will, among other things. Or–

Hit train of thought, which couldn’t have taken more than a couple moments, was abruptly cut off.

“Meow!” It sounded almost panicked. The emotionally stunted Root agent looked at the cat sitting in front of him.

“Oh. Their current mission is to catch _you_ , isn’t it?”

The ear sporting a red ribbon twitched in irritation.

“Meow!” This time the critter sounded more demanding, almost angry.

Sai smiled. He knew how to! He was practicing! “I know. Why don’t you hide here? They will not look for you behind the counter.”

The mental dilemma of whether he should help his fellow ninja or the aggravated, clearly distressed animal was over quickly when those wide eyes turned back to him. They were wild, slowly filling with insanity and mindless desire to fight or flee the approaching foe. Sai didn’t want to know what sort of torture awaited the one to push the poor thing.

Besides, this was clearly a D-rank – a mission of the lowest priority. Many thought of them as training missions as well, be it a lesson in ninja arts or patience. The children would find their target. Eventually.

He was actually helping them! What if the target made contact with an ally while in hostile territory while the team was trying to capture them? Such conditions might be deadly in other circumstances. Danzo-sama always said not to waste perfectly usable tools. Naruto agreed. When both people Sai listened to said the same thing, it couldn’t be wrong.

The tail disappeared from the door view none too soon. The genin team ran in with their sensei lazily trailing behind.

“Hello, welcome to the inn. How may I help you?” Sai smiled like a good host.

The genin paused and exchanged loaded looks as if mentally nudging each other to talk. Finally, a boy stepped forward.

“Hey! Have you seen a brown cat? It’s supposed to have a red ribbon on the right ear.”

“I am afraid pets require an additional fee unless it is a nin-animal. Would you like to make a reservation?”

“That is not what I asked about!”

Sai smiled wider, “There are no pets residing in the inn at the moment.”

“Aw snap! Let’s go!” The children, because that is what they were, existed in the same manner as they entered. The jounin merely smirked and followed.

The paw sticking out from under the desk slowly retreated back before the feline emerged in its entirety.

The cat purred and gave Sai’s leg a headbutt. He picked up the animal and began petting the thick fur. Sometimes the cat squinted and stretched. Sometimes the yellow eyes peered into the ninja’s own.

That is how Naruto found them an hour later.

“Sai, what is that? Please don’t tell me you stole the demon from the crazy lady and now plan to use it as leverage for some nefarious plot of Danzo’s.”

The cat sneered at the newcomer and hissed. Naruto backed away, “Whoa, easy there.”

Sai resumed the previously paused petting, and the cat relaxed.

“No, Tora will now live with us when she wants to.”

The jaw drop his blond friend displayed was an impressive demonstration of baffled shock. Sai painted it two days later to use as a reference. Naruto grumbled about it for weeks.

Tora still disliked Naruto and purred for Sai when she was around. However, with the word of the cat’s new favourite hangout spot spreading among the genin, such occasions were rare and short-lived. A fact Naruto was eternally thankful for despite the cat becoming a permanent fixture of their home.

**Author's Note:**

> Sai had never been a genin, so he never had the Catch Tora mission.  
> Tora likes him.  
> Sai may also have Uchiha genes and may have an affinity for cats. We shall see.


End file.
